Decked out in metallic clothing, disco ball inspired cowboy hats and lots of sparkles, members of the BeyHive came buzzing to see Beyoncé perform as part of her Renaissance World Tour at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Tuesday night.
The world tour, which centers around Beyoncé’s 2022 album “Renaissance,” started in Sweden. It became an instant international sensation. Beyoncé serves as her own opening act for the show, which spans nearly three hours, including more than 30 songs and multiple set and costume changes.
Ahead of the Massachusetts concert, fans were stirring with excitement and love for the multi-hyphenate star.
Chanel Ashley, Moon Hart and Devon Hill came to the concert together from Dorchester, excited to see their “queen mother.”
“Nobody performs like her, in this day and age,” Ashley said. “Nobody’s giving the vocals like her, the choreo like her, the visuals like her, just the total environment of concert. Putting on a three-hour concert, who has the stamina like that?”
“Nobody!” Ashley, Hart and Hill all said in unison.
“This is unreal, I’m ecstatic,” Hart said. “This is only my second concert ever — and its Beyoncé! I’m feeling it. Nothing compares. Beyoncé is just top tier. She’s just it.”
“I might throw up, I’m so excited,” Hill said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, I might pass out. Don’t wake me up! Just let me live it out.”
Haley Lerner / GBH News
BeyHive members have been drawn to the tour like honey. On Tuesday, the swarm of fans turned the football stadium into a glittering club.
The excitement leading up to the concert was palpable, with fans ecstatic to see the musical icon who they have grown up with and long loved.
“My mom’s a single mom, so I just grew up listening to Beyoncé — ‘BDay,’ ‘Irreplaceable,’ every album, every single, I could go on and on,” Hill said. “I feel like I know her. That’s my mother.”
Brianna Beadle said “everyone grows up listening to Beyoncé. Every cookout, Beyoncé’s playing.” But, during the pandemic, listening to and watching her “Black is King” musical film touched Beadle emotionally.
“I cried. Everything that it means about being a Black woman in America, that just made me feel so many emotions where I was like OK, this is why everyone loves Beyoncé,” she said. “That’s kind of what made me a die hard.”
The Tuesday concert was the first ever for Emily Burke, who said she was freaking out about seeing who she considered to be “America’s sweetheart.”
“She’s been an iconic staple piece of my life for a very long time,“ Burke said. “I think for a lot of Black women, if you ask them what was one of their first Black female influences, it’s probably Beyoncé. She is a representation that despite the stereotypes and the prejudices on you, you are so capable.”
Haley Lerner / GBH News
Myrvline Gilles agreed that she has grown with Beyoncé, as well as grown to love the megastar.
“Obviously, I would occasionally listen as a kid because we all kind of grew up on Beyoncé,” she said. “As I got older, being able to relate to her music as a Black woman in America, it’s just something I’ll always resonate with. I’m always going to love her, I’m always going to gravitate to her.”
Tyler Edmond said Beyoncé’s music helped him when he needed it most.
“‘Renaissance’ the album, it really uplifted me during a period when I needed something uplifting,” he said. “I was going through such a hard time that listening to her music helped.”
Kevin Monteiro said the Renaissance tour serves as a place of hope and inspiration for Beyoncé fans.
“It’s just about everyone just coming together as one,” he said. “Everyone getting out of their comfort zone and just being appreciative of one another.”
Devout fan Tony Jones has been to multiple Beyoncé concerts in the past, but was excited as ever to see his idol again.
“Her music has helped me a lot,” he said. “The greats that came before her are kind of dead or gone, so at this point she’s the greatest of our generation.”
“I want you all to remember where you are right now. Remember this very moment, remember what you’re wearing, remember who you came here with, remember this feeling, remember this sound,” Beyoncé said at the end of her concert. “I hope you feel joy inside, I hope you feel inspired, I hope you feel love in your heart and you take that love everywhere you go.”
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